Ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith under investigation by government watchdog Office of Special Counsel
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is investigating former special counsel Jack Smith, the OSC has confirmed to Fox News. Smith was tapped in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as special counsel regarding two probes pertaining to then-former President Donald Trump. The OSC is investigating Smith for allegedly violating the Hatch Act, which bars government employees from partaking in political activities. It is not a criminal investigation. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Saturday, but did not receive a response. TRUMP’S NOMINEE TO LEAD US OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REFUTES ANTISEMITIC CLAIMS AND TIES TO HOLOCAUST DENIER The OSC is not the same as a special counsel appointed by an attorney general, as Smith was, but “is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency,” according to its website. “OSC’s statutory authority comes from four federal laws: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA),” the website explains. TRUMP CALLS JACK SMITH ‘DESPERATE’ AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT IS RELEASED AFTER MIDNIGHT Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas recently asked the OSC to look into whether Smith illegally engaged in political activity to influence the 2024 election against Trump. “I write requesting the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith, Special Counsel for Attorney General Merrick Garland, unlawfully took political actions to influence the 2024 election to harm then-candidate President Donald Trump,” Cotton wrote in a July 30 letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer. TOP GOP SENATOR DEMANDS PROBE INTO WHETHER JACK SMITH ‘UNLAWFULLY’ TRIED TO INFLUENCE 2024 ELECTION “President Trump of course vanquished Joe Biden, Jack Smith, every Democrat who weaponized the law against him, but President Trump’s astounding victory doesn’t excuse Smith of responsibility for his unlawful election interference. I therefore ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith or any members of his team unlawfully acted for political purposes,” Cotton wrote. Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
Secret Service will not renew former director Kim Cheatle’s security clearance
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will not have her top-level security clearance renewed, the agency said. This comes after Cheatle resigned last year amid mounting scrutiny over security lapses that led to the assassination attempt against then-candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump survived an assassination attempt during the July 13, 2024, rally, suffering an injury to his ear after a bullet grazed him, while audience member Corey Comperatore was killed and two others in the crowd were wounded. A Secret Service sniper fatally shot the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who had climbed to the top of a nearby building. The Secret Service, as well as several top U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, regularly update the security clearances for former directors. But the Secret Service now says not all former directors will have their clearances renewed under current Director Sean Curran. SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE RESIGNS AFTER MOUNTING PRESSURE IN WAKE OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT “The U.S. Secret Service sponsors security clearances for all the former directors for their knowledge of operational and national security matters,” a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. “The purpose for this was so the agency could maintain formal and protected communication including potentially sensitive and classified matters with former officials.” “Since appointed, Director Curran has been building a dynamic team of knowledgeable advisors that will help implement his vision for the agency,” the spokesperson continued. “Additionally, Director Curran has been modernizing the intelligence apparatus within the agency. During that process, he has determined that not all former directors will have their clearances renewed.” The move not to renew Cheatle’s security clearance comes as some Republican lawmakers were voicing opposition to a potential renewal, including Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., who argued that her leadership decisions contributed to the agency’s numerous failures surrounding the assassination attempt against Trump. “Following the security debacle in Butler, the former director of USSS made the right decision to resign,” Johnson said in a statement to RealClearPolitics. “I see no reason for her security clearance to be reinstated.” BUTLER ONE YEAR LATER: REVISITING THE HISTORIC ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST DONALD TRUMP Johnson, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, had probed the Secret Service’s failures leading up to the assassination attempt in Butler. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee that conducted a joint investigation with a Homeland Security panel into the lapses in Butler, said the agency’s failures should prevent her from holding a security clearance. “Kim Cheatle disgraced the Secret Service by failing to prevent a horrifying attempt on President Trump’s life,” Blackburn said in a statement to RealClearPolitics. “Not only did she oversee one of the greatest security failures in our nation’s history, but she also stonewalled congressional oversight and ran away from my colleagues and me when we confronted her. Under no circumstances should she be allowed to regain her security clearance, and it is shameful she would even try.” Cheatle resigned as director 10 days after the shooting in Butler, as she was facing intense pressure from Republicans over the security failures. “To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency at the time. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she added. On the first anniversary of the assassination attempt, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, accused her of lying in her testimony to Congress in the aftermath of the shooting when she denied accusations she turned down requests for more resources for Trump’s security. The former director pushed back on Paul’s allegations. “Any assertion or implication that I provided misleading testimony is patently false and does a disservice to those men and women on the front lines who have been unfairly disciplined for a team, rather than individual, failure,” she responded in a statement provided by her attorney.
Patel fires back at media critics after uncovering secret FBI ‘burn bags’ with classified documents
FBI Director Kash Patel called out the left-wing media Saturday for labeling him a liar over his discovery of a trove of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump-Russia probe buried in multiple “burn bags” in a secret room inside the bureau. Sources previously told Fox News Digital the “burn bag” system is used to destroy documents designated as classified or higher. Sources also said multiple burn bags were found and filled with thousands of documents. One document FBI officials found in a burn bag, sources said, was the classified annex to former special counsel John Durham’s final report, which includes the underlying intelligence he reviewed. Patel addressed the burn bags on X, reminding people of what he proved in 2017 and 2018. SOROS’ ALLEGED TIES TO RUSSIAGATE EXPOSED IN DECLASSIFIED ANNEX OF DURHAM REPORT “In 2017/18, I proved the Steele Dossier was fictitious intelligence, weaponized by corrupt FBI officials to deceive a federal judge and unlawfully spy on then presidential candidate Trump’s campaign – all paid for by his opponent,” the FBI director said. “The media called me a liar. “Now I’m the FBI Director: We just uncovered burn bags/room filled with Russia Gate files, including the Durham annex, and declassified them,” Patel continued. “Once again, I released the prior FBI’s own documents and exposed the truth. The same media is calling me a liar again. Maybe this FBI will release more docs directly, from FBI HQ…so we can see who is lying – wouldn’t want to deprive the fake news of more bogus Pulitzers.” The declassification of the classified annex is being done in close coordination between CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Attorney General Pam Bondi and acting National Security Agency Director William Hartman. PATEL FOUND THOUSANDS OF SENSITIVE TRUMP–RUSSIA PROBE DOCS INSIDE ‘BURN BAGS’ IN SECRET ROOM AT FBI The declassified annex will be transmitted to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who ultimately will release the document to the public. Patel, in a June interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, revealed that he found a room full of documents and computer hard drives “that no one had ever seen or heard of.” “Just think about this,” Patel told Rogan. “Me, as director of the FBI, the former ‘Russiagate guy,’ when I first got to the bureau, found a room that Comey and others hid from the world in the Hoover Building, full of documents and computer hard drives that no one had ever seen or heard of. Locked the key and hid access and just said, ‘No one’s ever gonna find this place.’” Patel and his staff have been working through the documents, some of which are related to sensitive investigations, including the FBI’s original Trump–Russia probe, known inside the bureau as Crossfire Hurricane. FBI’S CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP-RUSSIA ACTIONS PREDICTED WITH ‘ALARMING SPECIFICITY’ BY FOREIGN ACTORS: SOURCES It is unclear what the latest documents cover specifically, but sources told Fox News Digital that the most recent discovery was pursuant to an investigative request from Grassley. Patel has turned the documents over to Grassley. Grassley has been requesting information related to Durham’s probe. Durham was appointed after then-special counsel Robert Mueller completed his yearslong investigation into the origins of the Trump–Russia probe — including intelligence community malfeasance during and in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Sources told Fox News Digital that Grassley’s team is now reviewing the underlying information as part of its investigative work. As for the other records, Patel’s staff is working to turn them over to Congress pursuant to investigative requests by committees of jurisdiction. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Trump tells Schumer to ‘GO TO HELL’ over Senate nominee deal funding demands after negotiations collapse
Hours of tense negotiations to strike a deal on President Donald Trump’s nominees blew up Saturday night, and now lawmakers are headed home. Senate Republicans and Democrats were quick to point the finger at one another for the deal’s demise, but it was ultimately Trump who nuked the talks. PIRRO CONFIRMED AS D.C. U.S. ATTORNEY AMID PARTISAN CLASH AS DEM NOMINEE BLOCKADE CONTINUES In a lengthy post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of “demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees.” “This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name,” Trump said. “Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” “Do not accept the offer,” he continued. “Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” DEMS DIG IN, TRUMP DEMANDS ALL: NOMINEE FIGHT BOILS OVER IN SENATE AS GOP LOOKS FOR A DEAL Instead of finding a pathway to vote on as many as 60 of the president’s nominees, all of which moved through committee with bipartisan support, lawmakers rapid-fire voted on seven before leaving Washington until September. But Schumer treated Trump’s move as a victory for Senate Democrats. He countered that it was the president who gave up on negotiations while he and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., worked to find a bipartisan solution, “provided the White House and Senate Republicans met our demands.” “He took his ball, he went home, leaving Democrats and Republicans alike wondering what the hell happened,” Schumer said, standing next to a poster-sized version of the president’s post. “Trump’s all-caps Tweet said it all,” he continued. “In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiating.” But prior to the president’s edict, both sides of the aisle believed they were on the verge of a breakthrough to both meet Trump’s desire to see his nominees confirmed and leave Washington. Thune said that there were “lots of offers” made between him and Schumer over the course of negotiations. “There were several different times where I think either or both sides maybe thought there was a deal in the end,” he said. Senate Democrats wanted the White House to unfreeze billions in National Institute of Health and foreign aid funding, in addition to a future agreement that no more clawback packages would come from the White House. In exchange, they would greenlight several of Trump’s non-controversial nominees. RECESS ON ICE AS REPUBLICANS HUNKER DOWN FOR HIGH-STAKES NOMINEE BLITZ Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused Schumer of going “too far” by upping the price tag on his demands. “We’ve had three different deals since last night,” he said. “And every time it’s been, every time it’s ‘I want more,’” Mullin said of Schumer’s demands. He said that Republicans weren’t caught off guard by Trump’s call to halt talks, and noted that the White House had been heavily involved in negotiations. “You get to a realization that there was, it was never about making a deal,” he continued. “They want to go out and say the President’s being unrealistic, and because he can’t answer to his base to make a deal like we have in every other president in history.” Now, Republicans won’t pursue recess appointments, but Mullin noted that moving ahead with a rule change to the confirmation process when lawmakers return in September was going to happen in response. “The asks evolved on both sides quite a bit over time,” Thune said. “But in the end, we never got to a place where we had both sides agree to lock it in.” Senate Democrats, on the other hand, countered that their offer never changed, and that Republicans kept increasing the number of nominees they wanted across the line, and attempted to include more controversial, partisan picks. Schumer wouldn’t reveal the details of his demands, but charged that any changes to Senate rules would be a “huge mistake,” and urged Trump to work with Senate Democrats moving forward, particularly as Congress hurtles toward yet another deadline to fund the government in September. “They should stop listening to him,” Schumer said. “If they want to do what’s good for the American people, they shouldn’t be in blind obeisance to Donald Trump.”
Pirro confirmed as D.C. U.S. Attorney amid partisan clash as Dem nominee blockade continues
The Senate on Saturday confirmed Jeanine Pirro, President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as Washington D.C.’s top prosecutor, as lawmakers failed to reach a deal to ram through dozens of the president’s nominees. The onetime New York judge and prosecutor and former Fox News host was one of the over 150 still outstanding nominees on the Senate’s calendar as Senate Republicans work to find a path forward to ram through Senate Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominees, and part of a slew of picks to get a vote over the weekend. But just ahead of her confirmation vote, the path to a deal was derailed, and lawmakers opted to ram through just seven of Trump’s nominees before heading home until September. RECESS ON ICE AS REPUBLICANS HUNKER DOWN FOR HIGH-STAKES NOMINEE BLITZ Pirro, who was confirmed by a 50-45 vote, will serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a post she has held since May on an interim basis. Pirro previously served as the District Attorney in Westchester County, New York, for over a decade. Prior to that, she was on the bench as a judge in Westchester County in the early 1990s. “Jeanine is incredibly well-qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York,” Trump said when he nominated Pirro. “She is in a class by herself.” HOMESICK GOP SENATORS MULL THROWING OUT THE RULES OVER STONEWALLING DEMS She was not Trump’s first pick for the job, however. His first choice, Ed Martin, failed to gain enough support among Republicans earlier this year. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., effectively tanked Martin’s nomination over concerns about his views on the Jan. 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill. And Pirro’s road to confirmation was not without its own hiccups and drama. GRASSLEY REBUKES TRUMP’S PRESSURE TO ‘HAVE THE COURAGE’ TO SPEED UP NOMINATIONS Senate Democrats have accused her of amplifying Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims and defending him after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot during her time as a Fox News host, and warned that she would do the president’s bidding in her role as Washington D.C.’s top prosecutor. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Democrats staged a walkout in protest of both her and U.S. District Judge Emil Bove, who was confirmed earlier this week in a tight, 50 to 49 vote. She later advanced out of committee on a party-line vote. “She’s an election denialist, recklessly peddling President Trump’s Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. and the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said of Pirro.
Dems dig in, Trump demands all: Nominee fight boils over in Senate as GOP looks for a deal
The path to a deal on confirming a slew of President Donald Trump’s nominees appeared shaky at best in the Senate Saturday, as Republicans and Democrats sparred over terms and conditions to find a way forward. Senators were supposed to be long gone from Washington by now, but Trump’s demands to ram his nominees through Senate Democrats’ historic blockade have kept lawmakers in town. But by late afternoon, not much progress had been made. RECESS ON ICE AS REPUBLICANS HUNKER DOWN FOR HIGH-STAKES NOMINEE BLITZ When asked if any headway had been made, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital, “Unfortunately, not really, no.” “The Dems are dug in on a position that’s just not working,” he said. Negotiations have been ongoing among Republicans, Democrats and the White House. Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., met last night to discuss an offer from Democrats. The two have not spoken directly since then, instead communicating through intermediaries, Thune said. However, he expected they would talk again later Saturday. Senate Republicans want to strike a deal that would see nominees that made it through committee with bipartisan support get lightning-fast votes on the floor, but Schumer has not relented. SENATE GOP EYES RULES REVOLT AS DEMS STONEWALL TRUMP NOMINEES A source familiar with negotiations said Senate Democrats are looking for deals on the release of funding withheld by the White House and a guarantee that there will be no future rescissions packages — a particular sticking point for them heading into the looming deadline to fund the government. In exchange, they are offering a tranche of nominees to go ahead now, and another round later in the fall. But Trump, who is at his Bedminster, N.J., golf course, has demanded that lawmakers stay in town and pass the entire slate of nominees on the Senate calendar, which has ballooned to over 150. The president lauded Senate Republicans in a post to Truth Social on Saturday “for fighting, over the Weekend and far beyond, if necessary, in order to get my great Appointments approved, and on their way to helping us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” “The Radical Left Democrat Senators are doing everything possible to DELAY these wonderful and talented people from being approved,” he said. “If George Washington or Abraham Lincoln were up for approval, the Dems would delay, as long as possible, then vote them out.” GRIDLOCK CRUMBLES AS SENATE ADVANCES SPENDING BILLS IN RACE AGAINST SHUTDOWN While Republicans have confirmed well over 100 of the president’s nominees, the only pick to make it to the floor without objection was Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Not a single one of Trump’s nominees has gotten a voice vote or gone through unanimous consent, two floor actions that have been routinely used to advance nominees in the upper chamber throughout the years. At this point four years ago, 49 of former President Joe Biden’s picks had been confirmed by voice vote. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., explained that Republicans have three options that they have enough support among the conference to move forward with: reach a deal with Democrats; adjourn the Senate and give the president runway for recess appointments and finally, a rules-change package, which some Republicans consider the “nuclear option.” On recess appointments, a move floated since before Trump took office, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., contended it would be up to Democrats whether Republicans actually went through with it. “The Democrats’ obstruction is leading to, in very short order, us taking the necessary actions to give the President power to make recess appointments,” he said. While it would be a touchy move that would set off a firestorm among Democrats, Republicans aren’t afraid to move ahead with a rules change. When asked if a rule change should be done before lawmakers leave town, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said “I think that’d be best.” But the preference is to strike a deal, preferably on a potential package on over 60 nominees that were advanced out of committee in a bipartisan fashion. “The reason why we’re that way is because Schumer led us down this road,” Mullin said. “He didn’t have to do it this way.”
Sen. Rick Scott endorses Trump-backed Florida gubernatorial candidate
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has endorsed fellow Republican Rep. Byron Donalds’ Florida gubernatorial bid. Scott served as governor of the Sunshine State prior to current Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I am proud to stand with President Trump and endorse Byron Donalds for Governor of Florida. Byron is a principled conservative who will lead with courage and conviction and fight on behalf of every Floridian,” Scott noted. “I’ve been proud to work with him on critical legislation to make flood insurance more affordable and help Floridians rebuild and recover from catastrophic hurricanes. And during my time as Governor, he was a critical partner in securing billions of dollars in tax relief for Florida families. REP. DONALDS: DEMOCRATS HAVE ‘BETRAYED THE TRUST’ OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE “As Governor, Byron will strengthen our economy, fight for seniors and veterans, protect our communities, and above all, make Florida more affordable for every family.” Donalds thanked the senator. “Thank you @ScottforFlorida for your support! You have been an incredible leader for our state and it’s been an honor to fight alongside you on Capitol Hill,” Donalds posted on X. “As Governor, I look forward to working with you and President Trump to strengthen Florida and Make America Great Again.” Donalds announced his candidacy earlier this year after President Donald Trump endorsed him for the governorship. TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN BACKS BYRON DONALDS FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR “Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!” Trump declared in a February Truth Social post. DeSantis, who is serving his second term in the post, is not eligible to run again in 2026 due to state term limits. “No person who has, or but for resignation would have, served as governor or acting governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected governor for the succeeding term,” the Florida constitution states. FLORIDA SENATOR CALLS ON NEW YORKERS WHO ‘HATE SOCIALISM’ TO MOVE SOUTH WITH AERIAL AD Scott and Trump have both also endorsed Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., in her upcoming bid to remain in the Senate. DeSantis tapped Moody to replace Marco Rubio, who departed the Senate well before the end of his term to serve as Trump’s secretary of state. Moody is aiming to win a special election next year to serve out the remainder of what would have been Rubio’s Senate term.
Trump 1.0 alums share chilling Google message from before second-term return: ‘LAWFARE at its finest’
Officials from the first Trump administration are alleging they received notices from Google shortly before they returned to office that they were being probed by the FBI under the Biden administration and the web giant was unable to tell them because of a court order. Dan Scavino, who is now White House Deputy Chief of Staff and assistant to the president, described the matter as “Biden lawfare” kicking in after he “patriotically and proudly” served during Trump’s first term. “Google received and responded to a legal process issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation compelling the release of information related to your Google account. A court order previously prohibited Google from notifying you of the legal process…” Scavino shared on X from an email he said he received from Google five weeks before Trump returned to the White House. “I’ve never shared this — but this is a small taste of the INSANITY that many of us went through — right here in the United States of America. LAWFARE at its finest. A Complete and Total Disgrace!!!!!” he added. TOP GOP SENATOR DEMANDS PROBE INTO WHETHER JACK SMITH ‘UNLAWFULLY’ TRIED TO INFLUENCE 2024 ELECTION Less than a half-hour after Scavino’s post, FBI Director Kash Patel responded to him saying “I got one of those too…” Jeff Clark, the current acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, then chimed in Saturday morning, saying that he, too, received a similar message. “Indeed, a whole Jack Smith team was assigned to go through my emails after there was a privilege review,” Clark wrote on X in reference to the former special counsel. “But that group of lawyers ignored my religious pastor privilege, marital privilege, and other privileges and basically shipped all they could to Jack Smith. But it still cost me tens of thousands to try to protect my communications,” he added. FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN ‘CLUELESS’ ABOUT WHY FBI WOULD INVESTIGATE HIM Smith was tapped by former Attorney General Merrick Garland to probe allegations that Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election results, and later investigated the handling of classified documents that were uncovered during a raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound. “My medical records and other private communications had nothing to do with the 2020 election. They were no one’s business. But it didn’t matter to these thugs with law degrees and the willingness to abuse government power,” Clark said Saturday. “They were trying to bait me to go to court to get them to destroy their secret copies of the emails, so they could try to break even my lawyer-client privilege with President Trump. But my team and I didn’t fall for it,” Clark also said. “Moreover, the whole thing was a blatant attempt to intimidate me. It didn’t work and I didn’t fold under the pressure.” The FBI did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.
‘Was the president up for the job?’ Steve Ricchetti defends Biden’s fitness as GOP seeks answers
Steve Ricchetti was the gatekeeper for former President Biden. But House Republican investigators hoped Ricchetti was the key to unlocking answers about Mr. Biden’s cognitive state when he was commander in chief. The House Oversight Committee summoned Ricchetti for a closed-door deposition recently. Ricchetti worked for President Clinton, was Biden’s top aide when he was Vice President and served as a key advisor in the Biden White House. He frequently visited Capitol Hill as President Biden and Congressional Republicans negotiated a debt ceiling pact in the spring of 2023. “What’s your message to the committee today?” yours truly asked Ricchetti when he materialized on the third floor of the Rayburn House Office Building for a voluntary, transcribed interrogation. “I’m not going to say anything on the way in. I’m just going to go in and give an interview,” replied Ricchetti. “Was the President up for the job?” I inquired. “Of course he was,” answered Ricchetti. “Of course he was.” SENATE REPUBLICANS PLAN HEARING ON BIDEN’S ALLEGED COGNITIVE DECLINE COVER-UP In a statement, Ricchetti conceded that former President Biden “occasionally stumbled.” But he argued the former president was fit for the job. Ricchetti added that no one “usurped President Biden’s Constitutional duties.” In their inquest, Republicans have specific questions about the former President’s use of the autopen and about legal documents bearing Mr. Biden’s signature. “Who was signing any of these documents and who was running the White House?” asked Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., on Fox. “That’s the biggest, weirdest scandal probably in American history since Woodrow Wilson’s wife was running the White House.” That refers to First Lady Edith Wilson. Historians generally believe that she took over day-to-day executive functions after President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke. “Anything that had the force of (law) that was signed by autopen should be null and void,” argued Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, on Fox Business. Unlike Ricchetti, three other Biden figures have ducked questions when summoned for closed-door interviews. The Oversight Committee issued subpoenas for former Biden administration aide Annie Tomasini, former Jill Biden aide Anthony Bernal and the President’s former physician, White House doctor Kevin O’Connor. All three invoked the Fifth Amendment during their sessions before the House Oversight Committee, declining to answer questions. BIDEN’S AUTOPEN USE QUESTIONED AMID RELEASED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW “I think the real witness is the doctor. And unfortunately, he took the Fifth,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. Marshall himself is an OB-GYN. “A doctor certainly has an obligation ethically to protect (a patient) for privacy. But the needs of the country – the national security issue, legal issues – trump that relationship as well,” said Marshall. Democrats contend Republicans are flailing in their probe of the former President. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., believes the GOP should focus on the economy and affordability issues. “Message to House Republicans,” declared Welch. “You won the election. I mean, I’m not quite sure why they want to waste time on this.” “He’s not the president,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., of former President Biden. “I think we really should just move (on).” Fetterman himself faced questions about his health after suffering a stroke during his 2022 campaign and hospitalization for depression after taking office as a senator in 2023. But Republicans contend the Biden investigation is critical. Former President Biden’s medical state isn’t clear, although the public saw his performance in the debate last June. Republicans insist their probe is about figuring out what to do if a future President struggles cognitively. SENATE HEARING ON WHO WAS ‘REALLY RUNNING’ BIDEN WHITE HOUSE KICKS OFF WEDNESDAY “What we’re doing today is setting sort of a template for the future,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “How can we make it better? Because it’s a Democratic President today. It may be a Republican President tomorrow.” It’s not just a challenge for the presidency. But for lawmakers, too. In recent years, Capitol Hill has witnessed uncomfortable, steady declines of late Sens. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Kay Granger, R-Tex. “Hopefully all of us make the right decision when it’s appropriate,” said Welch. “And we have people around us to do the right thing.” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., is one of the most conservative, politically pragmatic Democrats in the House. She represents a district President Trump carried three times. And even though Sens. Patty Muray, D-Wash., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., routinely win statewide, they fail to carry Gluesenkamp Perez’s district. Gluesenkamp Perez bested GOP nominee Joe Kent – for a second time – by four points in 2024. The 36-year-old Gluesenkamp Perez introduced a plan requiring cognitive standards for persons to serve in the House. The House Appropriations Committee rejected her amendment late last month. However, there are Constitutional and legal problems with imposing a cognitive exam on prospective lawmakers. Article, I, Section 5 of the Constitution says the House and Senate “may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.” So, it’s possible the House or Senate could impose a “rule” dictating a test. The same part of the Constitution says each body may judge “the qualifications of its own Members.” INSIDE THE BIDEN COVER-UP PROBE: 8 AIDES QUESTIONED, MORE ON THE WAY But imposing an additional provision for eligibility to serve could be extra-constitutional. For instance, Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution says House Members must be at least 25-years-old, have been a citizen for seven years and reside in the state from which they were elected. A senator must be 30, a citizen for nine years and live in the state they represent. However, heaping another mandate on top of that is a problem. This is why the Supreme Court found term limits to be unconstitutional. An additional “rule” – such as how long one can serve – introduces an extra qualification not outlined in the Constitution. That’s why the Supreme Court ruled against term limits proposals. It’s likely the High Court would follow suit with additional stipulations to serve in Congress. Moreover,
TIMELINE: Evolution of Mamdani’s defunding police rhetoric to this week’s ‘damage control’
New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani made headlines this week when he attempted to walk back his long track record dating back to 2020 of criticizing the New York Police Department and calling for it to be defunded. On Wednesday, Mamdani told reporters after the death of an NYPD officer in midtown Manhattan that he is “not running to defund the police” and is “a candidate who is not fixed in time, one that learns and one that leads, and part of that means admitting, as I have grown, and part of that means focusing on the people who deserve to be focused about.” Mamdani added that his past calls to defund the police had been made out of “frustration” over the death of George Floyd. Fox News Digital reviewed his comments on positions on police dating back to the days after Floyd’s death. MAMDANI BLASTED BY GOP OPPONENT FOR ‘SANCTIMONIOUS HYPOCRISY’ ON POLICE STANCE: ‘ABSOLUTE INSANITY’ June 5, 2020 “Two cops knocked a harmless old man to the ground and let him bleed out on the pavement,” Mamdani posted on X. “All that’s happened to them is a suspension without pay – and their colleagues think even that’s too much. There’s no reforming this system. Defund the police.” June 28, 2020 “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety,” Mamdani posted on X. “What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD. But your compromise uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts – defund the police.” July 3, 2020: “We need a socialist city council to defund the police,” Mamdani posted on X. November 6, 2020 “Queer liberation means defund the police,” Mamdani posted on X. November 7, 2020 “Nature is healing,” Mandani posted on X in response to a user mocking and laughing at seeing a police officer “crying inside his car.” December 7, 2020 “City Council tried to make the NYPD reduce its overtime budget by half,” Mamdani posted on X. “They simply refused. There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence.” MAMDANI REVEALS IN RESURFACED VIDEO HOW ONE OF HIS ‘GREATEST VICTORIES’ BENEFITTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS June 5, 2021 In an interview with SAAG interactive, Mamdani again pushed the idea of defunding the police while suggesting the department for investing in “apartheid” by working with Israel’s IDF. December 19, 2024 “As Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights,” Mamdani posted on X, pledging to disband the New York Police Department’s Strategic Response Group (SRG), a unit that was first on the scene responding to the deadly midtown Manhattan shooting that left an NYPD officer and several others dead last month. Mamdani’s long history of anti-police rhetoric has resulted in heavy skepticism from many that his Wednesday press conference truly represents an abandonment of a desire to defund or hamstring police. “Zohran ‘Nature Is Healing’ Mamdani’s Wednesday presser struck me as a cynical and transparent attempt at damage control in response to an incident that served as a violent and somber reminder to New Yorkers of the enormous daily risks taken on their behalf by the men and women of the NYPD,” Rafael Mangual, senior fellow and head of research for policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, told Fox News Digital this week. “But even under the tragic circumstances in which the press conference was held, Mamdani balked at multiple opportunities to explicitly retract or apologize for his long and sordid history of anti-police statements.”